1 ` And it hath been, if thou dost hearken diligently to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all His commands which I am commanding thee to-day, that Jehovah thy God hath made thee uppermost above all the nations of the earth,

“Be faithful in obeying the Lord your God. Be careful to keep all His Laws which I tell you today. And the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

2 a nd all these blessings have come upon thee, and overtaken thee, because thou dost hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God:

All these good things will come upon you if you will obey the Lord your God.

3 ` Blessed thou in the city, and blessed thou in the field.

Good will come to you in the city, and good will come to you in the country.

4 ` Blessed the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, increase of thine oxen, and wealth of thy flock.

Good will come to your children, and the fruit of your ground, and the young of your animals. Your cattle and flock will have many young ones.

5 ` Blessed thy basket and thy kneading-trough.

Good will come to your basket and your bread pan.

6 ` Blessed thou in thy coming in, and blessed thou in thy going out.

Good will come to you when you come in, and when you go out.

7 ` Jehovah giveth thine enemies, who are rising up against thee -- smitten before thy face; in one way they come out unto thee, and in seven ways they flee before thee.

“The Lord will cause you to win the battles against those who fight against you. They will come against you one way, and run away from you seven ways.

8 ` Jehovah commandeth with thee the blessing in thy storehouses, and in every putting forth of thy hand, and hath blessed thee in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.

The Lord will send good upon you in your store-houses and in all your work. He will bring good to you in the land the Lord your God gives you.

9 ` Jehovah doth establish thee to Himself for a holy people, as He hath sworn to thee, when thou keepest the commands of Jehovah thy God, and hast walked in His ways;

The Lord will make you a holy nation to Himself, as He promised you. But you must keep the Laws of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.

10 a nd all the peoples of the land have seen that the name of Jehovah is called upon thee, and they have been afraid of thee.

Then all the nations of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord and they will be afraid of you.

11 ` And Jehovah hath made thee abundant in good, in the fruit of the womb, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, on the ground which Jehovah hath sworn to thy fathers to give to thee.

The Lord will give much to you. He will give you many children, and many young ones among your animals, and much food from the ground, in the land the Lord promised to your fathers to give you.

12 ` Jehovah doth open to thee his good treasure -- the heavens -- to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand, and thou hast lent to many nations, and thou -- thou dost not borrow.

The Lord will open for you His good store-house, the heavens. He will give rain to your land at the right time. He will bring good to all the work you do. You will give to many nations. But you will not use anything that belongs to them.

13 ` And Jehovah hath given thee for head, and not for tail; and thou hast been only above, and art not beneath, for thou dost hearken unto the commands of Jehovah thy God, which I am commanding thee to-day, to keep and to do,

The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. If you listen to the Laws of the Lord your God which I tell you today and be careful to obey them, you will only be above and not below.

14 a nd thou dost not turn aside from all the words which I am commanding you to-day -- right or left -- to go after other gods, to serve them.

Do not turn aside from any of the words I tell you today, to the right or to the left. Do not follow other gods and work for them.

15 ` And it hath been, if thou dost not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God to observe to do all His commands, and His statutes, which I am commanding thee to-day, that all these revilings have come upon thee, and overtaken thee:

“If you will not obey the Lord your God or be careful to do all His Laws which I tell you today, all these curses will come upon you.

16 ` Cursed thou in the city, and cursed thou in the field.

You will be cursed in the city, and in the country.

17 ` Cursed thy basket and thy kneading-trough.

Your basket and your bread pan will be cursed.

18 ` Cursed the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, increase of thine oxen, and wealth of thy flock.

Your children will be cursed, and the fruit of your ground, and the young of your cattle and flock.

19 ` Cursed thou in thy coming in, and cursed thou in thy going out.

You will be cursed when you come in and when you go out.

20 ` Jehovah doth send on thee the curse, the trouble, and the rebuke, in every putting forth of thy hand which thou dost, till thou art destroyed, and till thou perish hastily, because of the evil of thy doings which thou hast forsaken Me.

“The Lord will send upon you curses, trouble and sharp words in all you try to do, until you are destroyed. You will be quick to die, because of the sinful things you do, and because you have turned away from Me.

21 ` Jehovah doth cause to cleave to thee the pestilence, till He consume thee from off the ground whither thou art going in to possess it.

The Lord will make disease to be with you until He has destroyed you from the land you are going in to take.

22 ` Jehovah doth smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with extreme burning, and with sword, and with blasting, and with mildew, and they have pursued thee till thou perish

The Lord will punish you with a wasting disease, a hot sickness, growing pain, heat like fire, the sword, and diseases that destroy your food. They will follow you until you die.

23 ` And thy heavens which over thy head have been brass, and the earth which under thee iron;

The heavens above your head will be brass. And the earth under you will be iron.

24 J ehovah giveth the rain of thy land -- dust and ashes; from the heavens it cometh down on thee till thou art destroyed.

The Lord will change the rain of your land into dust. It will come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 ` Jehovah giveth thee smitten before thine enemies; in one way thou goest out unto them, and in seven ways dost flee before them, and thou hast been for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth;

The Lord will cause you to lose the battle against those who hate you. You will go one way against them, but run seven ways away from them. You will fill all the nations of the earth with fear.

26 a nd thy carcase hath been for food to every fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and there is none causing trembling.

Your dead bodies will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth. There will be no one to make them afraid and to send them away.

27 ` Jehovah doth smite thee with the ulcer of Egypt, and with emerods, and with scurvy, and with itch, of which thou art not able to be healed.

“The Lord will punish you with the sores of Egypt, growing sores, and skin diseases, that will not be healed.

28 ` Jehovah doth smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;

The Lord will punish you by making you crazy, and blind, and troubled in your mind.

29 a nd thou hast been gropling at noon, as the blind gropeth in darkness; and thou dost not cause thy ways to prosper; and thou hast been only oppressed and plundered all the days, and there is no saviour.

You will have to feel for your way at noon, as the blind man feels his way in darkness. And your way will not go well. It will be made hard for you, and you will always be robbed. There will be no one to save you.

30 ` A woman thou dost betroth, and another man doth lie with her; a house thou dost build, and dost not dwell in it; a vineyard thou dost plant, and dost not make it common;

You will marry a wife. But another man will lie with her. You will build a house. But you will not live in it. You will plant vines. But you will not eat the fruit.

31 t hine ox slaughtered before thine eyes, and thou dost not eat of it; thine ass taken violently away from before thee, and it is not given back to thee; thy sheep given to thine enemies, and there is no saviour for thee.

Your bull will be killed in front of you. But you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be taken from you, and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to those who hate you. No one will help you.

32 ` Thy sons and thy daughters given to another people, and thine eyes are looking and consuming for them all the day, and thy hand is not to God!

Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation. Your eyes will watch for them always and you will have much desire for them. But there will be nothing you can do.

33 T he fruit of thy ground, and all thy labour, eat up doth a people whom thou hast not known; and thou hast been only oppressed and bruised all the days;

A nation you have not known will eat the food of your field and of your work. You will suffer under the power of others always.

34 a nd thou hast been mad, because of the sight of thine eyes which thou dost see.

You will be driven crazy by what you see.

35 ` Jehovah doth smite thee with an evil ulcer, on the knees, and on the legs (of which thou art not able to be healed), from the sole of thy foot even unto thy crown.

The Lord will make sores on your knees and legs that you cannot heal, from the bottom of your foot to the top of your head.

36 ` Jehovah doth cause thee to go, and thy king whom thou raisest up over thee, unto a nation which thou hast not known, thou and thy fathers, and thou hast served there other gods, wood and stone;

The Lord will bring you and your chosen king to a nation that you and your fathers have not known. There you will work for other gods, of wood and stone.

37 a nd thou hast been for an astonishment, for a simile, and for a byword among all the peoples whither Jehovah doth lead thee.

You will become a people who are hated, who are made fun of, and a shame among the people where the Lord will send you.

38 ` Much seed thou dost take out into the field, and little thou dost gather in, for the locust doth consume it;

“You will sow much seed in the field, but gather little, for the locust will eat it.

39 v ineyards thou dost plant, and hast laboured, and wine thou dost not drink nor gather, for the worm doth consume it;

You will plant and take care of vines, but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, for worms will eat them.

40 o lives are to thee in all thy border, and oil thou dost not pour out, for thine olive doth fall off.

You will have olive trees everywhere. But you will not pour the oil upon yourself, for your olives will fall off.

41 ` Sons and daughters thou dost beget, and they are not with thee, for they go into captivity;

You will have sons and daughters, but you will not keep them, for they will be taken away.

42 a ll thy trees and the fruit of thy ground doth the locust possess;

The locust will own all your trees and the food of your field.

43 t he sojourner who in thy midst goeth up above thee very high, and thou goest down very low;

The stranger among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will become less and less.

44 h e doth lend thee, and thou dost not lend him; he is for head, and thou art for tail.

He will give to you. But you will not give to him. He will be the head and you will be the tail.

45 ` And come upon thee have all these curses, and they have pursued thee, and overtaken thee, till thou art destroyed, because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep His commands, and His statutes, which he hath commanded thee;

All these curses will come upon you. They will follow you and come upon you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping all the Laws He gave you.

46 a nd they have been on thee for a sign and for a wonder, also on thy seed -- to the age.

They will be something special to see, and a powerful work upon you and your children forever.

47 ` Because that thou hast not served Jehovah thy God with joy, and with gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things --

Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart because of all He has given you,

48 t hou hast served thine enemies, whom Jehovah sendeth against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in lack of all things; and he hath put a yoke of iron on thy neck, till He hath destroyed thee.

you will serve those who hate you, whom the Lord will send against you. You will be hungry, thirsty, without clothing, and needing all things. He will put a heavy load on your neck until He has destroyed you.

49 ` Jehovah doth lift up against thee a nation, from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle it flieth; a nation whose tongue thou hast not heard,

“The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as fast as an eagle flies. It will be a nation whose language you will not understand,

50 a nation -- fierce of countenance -- which accepteth not the face of the aged, and the young doth not favour;

a nation that shows a hard face. It will have no respect for the old, or show favor to the young.

51 a nd it hath eaten the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, till thou art destroyed; which leaveth not to thee corn, new wine, and oil, increase of thine oxen, and wealth of thy flock, till it hath destroyed thee.

It will eat the young ones of your cattle and the food of your field until you are destroyed. It will leave you no grain, new wine, oil, or the young of your cattle or flock, until it has caused you to die.

52 ` And it hath laid siege to thee in all thy gates, till thy walls come down, the high and the fenced ones in which thou art trusting, in all thy land; yea, it hath laid siege to thee in all thy gates, in all thy land, which Jehovah thy God hath given to thee;

Your towns will be taken over by its armies until your high strong walls that you have trusted in come down everywhere in your land. Its armies will take over all your towns everywhere in the land the Lord your God has given you.

53 a nd thou hast eaten the fruit of thy body, flesh of thy sons and thy daughters (whom Jehovah thy God hath given to thee), in the siege, and in the straitness with which thine enemies do straiten thee.

During this time and because of the trouble caused by those who hate you, you will eat your own children, the flesh of your sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you.

54 ` The man who is tender in thee, and who very delicate -- his eye is evil against his brother, and against the wife of his bosom, and against the remnant of his sons whom he leaveth,

The most gentle man among you will be against his brother, the wife he loves, and the children he still has.

55 a gainst giving to one of them of the flesh of his sons whom he eateth, because he hath nothing left to him, in the siege, and in the straitness with which thine enemy doth straiten thee in all thy gates.

He will not give them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because it is all he has left for himself. This is how bad the trouble will be that those who hate you will bring to all your towns.

56 ` The tender woman in thee, and the delicate, who hath not tried the sole of her foot to place on the ground because of delicateness and because of tenderness -- her eye is evil against the husband of her bosom, and against her son, and against her daughter,

The most gentle woman among you may be careful not to set the bottom of her foot on the ground. But she will be hard to the husband she loves, to her son and daughter,

57 a nd against her seed which cometh out from between her feet, even against her sons whom she doth bear, for she doth eat them for the lacking of all things in secret, in the siege and in the straitness with which thine enemy doth straiten thee within thy gates.

to the afterbirth which comes out of her body, and to the children who are born from her. She will eat them in secret because she has nothing else. This is how bad the trouble will be that those who hate you will bring to all your towns.

58 ` If thou dost not observe to do all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honoured and fearful name -- Jehovah thy God --

“If you are not careful to obey all the words of the Law which are written in this book, to fear this honored name of the Lord your God,

59 t hen hath Jehovah made wonderful thy strokes, and the strokes of thy seed -- great strokes, and stedfast, and evil sicknesses, and stedfast.

then the Lord will bring bad diseases on you and your children, hard and lasting diseases and sicknesses.

60 ` And He hath brought back on thee all the diseases of Egypt, of the presence of which thou hast been afraid, and they have cleaved to thee;

He will bring all the diseases upon you that you were afraid of in Egypt. And they will stay with you.

61 a lso every sickness and every stroke which is not written in the book of this law; Jehovah doth cause them to go up upon thee till thou art destroyed,

The Lord will bring upon you every sickness and every trouble which is not written in the book of this Law also, until you are destroyed.

62 a nd ye have been left with few men, instead of which ye have been as stars of the heavens for multitude, because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah thy God.

You will have been as many as the stars of heaven but there will be few of you left, because you did not obey the Lord your God.

63 ` And it hath been, as Jehovah hath rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so doth Jehovah rejoice over you to destroy you, and to lay you waste; and ye have been pulled away from off the ground whither thou art going in to possess it;

As the Lord was happy with you and caused good to come to you and you were many, He will be happy to bring trouble upon you and destroy you. And you will be taken from the land you are going in to take.

64 a nd Jehovah hath scattered thee among all the peoples, from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth; and thou hast served there other gods which thou hast not known, thou and thy fathers -- wood and stone.

The Lord will spread you out among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve other gods, of wood and stone, which you and your fathers have not known.

65 ` And among those nations thou dost not rest, yea, there is no resting-place for the sole of thy foot, and Jehovah hath given to thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and grief of soul;

You will find no rest among those nations. There will be no place of rest for the bottom of your foot. But there the Lord will give you fear in your heart, eyes that become weak, and sorrow in your soul.

66 a nd thy life hath been hanging in suspense before thee, and thou hast been afraid by night and by day, and dost not believe in thy life;

Your life will be full of doubts. You will be afraid night and day. And you will not be sure of anything in your life.

67 i n the morning thou sayest, O that it were evening! and in the evening thou sayest, O that it were morning! from the fear of thy heart, with which thou art afraid, and from the sight of thine eyes which thou seest.

In the morning you will say, ‘If it were only evening!’ In the evening you will say, ‘If it were only morning!’ because of the fear of your heart, and the things your eyes see.

68 ` And Jehovah hath brought thee back to Egypt with ships, by a way of which I said to thee, Thou dost not add any more to see it, and ye have sold yourselves there to thine enemies, for men-servants and for maid-servants, and there is no buyer.'

The Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, in the way I said, ‘You will never see it again.’ There you will try to sell yourselves as men and women servants to those who hate you. But no one will buy you.”